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FEB.
23 — Goshen Season Ends On Last-Second Shot
Spring
Arbor University makes final possession count in 70-68
win over Leafs |
Goshen, IN — After 32 games, over five
months of practices and workouts and countless hours spent working to
make school history, the Goshen College men’s basketball 2004-2005
season came down to one, single basket.
And it was Spring Arbor University that made it.
With Wednesday night’s Mid-Central Conference Tournament first round
game tied at 68-68 with 16 seconds remaining, it was the Cougars’ Micah
Lancaster who buried a tough, falling away 18-footer with 0.4 seconds
remaining on the game clock, effectively ending Goshen’s magical
season in the process. After finishing for the second straight season
with a school-record 21 wins, the Leafs could not make the most of its
first-ever MCC Tournament home contest, falling in heartbreaking fashion
by a 70-68 score at a raucous, jam-packed Roman Gingerich Center.
“The difference between this game and the last few games in the
conference that we won was just one defensive stop and hitting
one more three-point shot,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “We
rebounded very well and at times moved the ball well on offense
to find the open man. It was a hard fought game that came down to making
a couple
of plays, and Spring Arbor made those plays.”
After finishing with a 9-7 MCC record and taking an outright
third-place finish — by far the best leauge mark since the current
MCC was formed in 1994-1995 — Goshen
(21-11, 9-7) had earned its first ever home MCC Tournament game.
Spring Arbor (18-15, 7-9) entered the game as the conference’s sixth
seed, though that came via a four-way tie for the league’s fifth-place
finish, as Spring Arbor, Grace College, the University of St.
Francis and Bethel College all finished MCC play with 7-9 conference
marks.
Early on in Wednesday night’s contest at the Roman Gingerich Center,
it was Goshen that looked nervous in making school history. Ten first-half
turnovers helped the Cougars to as much as a 10-point lead (28-18) with
just 4:12 remaining in the first half, and the sold-out crowd began to
grow antsy. Fortunately, Goshen closed the period with a 13 to two run,
grabbing a 31-30 lead with just 31 seconds remaining. Spring Arbor’s
Mike Folkert got free for a three-pointer right as the buzzer sounded,
however, putting the Cougars back on top by a 33-31 score at the intermission.
“Early in the game, we were really trying to force things on offense,” Daugherty
said. “I thought our defensive effort was decent, but we made some
bad decisions and rushed some shots. We had 10 first-half turnovers
and most of them were just our being in a hurry and not taking care of
the
ball. I felt that we were fortunate to be down by only two points
at the half.”
Even with Goshen’s careless first half of play, a classic MCC Tournament
game was in the midst of being set up. Spring Arbor regained
a seven-point cushion just two and a half minutes into the second
half, but a quick
seven to nothing Goshen run quickly tied the game at 41-41 with
16:43 remaining. Again the Cougars responded with a six to nothing
run of their
own to make it a 47-41 game, but Goshen had another answer. Daugherty’s
team scored the game’s next six points to again tie the score at
47-47 with 10:27 to play, and it seemed neither team would budge:
From that point on, neither squad would lead by more than four
points on any occasion. In a game that featured 10 ties and nine
lead changes,
it would
literally come down to who had the ball last.
Both teams traded baskets for the final 10 minutes of the game,
but a key play happened with two minutes remaining. With Goshen
setting up a play and trailing by a 61-63 score, Spring Arbor’s
DeJuan Jefferson stole the ball and raced to the other end for
a one-handed dunk. Daugherty’s
team did not panic, however, and was able to score the game’s next
three points at the free throw line. Trailing by a 64-65 score,
Goshen was unable to stop Lancaster’s penetration on the ensuing
possession, as the junior guard hit a nifty runner in the lane
to make it 67-64, Spring
Arbor. Goshen senior Paul Kopanski came up with a big offensive
rebound after junior Tyler Sheerer missed a three-point attempt
on the Leafs’ next
possession, and his put-back basket cut the Cougar lead to a
single point.
Goshen then elected to foul Lancaster with just 25 seconds on
the clock. He made the first, but missed the second. After Spring
Arbor was able to knock the ball out of bounds underneath Goshen’s
basket, it was Daugherty that called timeout to set up a play
to either tie or
take the lead.
His play was a magnificent one.
The Leafs ran an out of bounds set that freed up sophomore Willie
Frazier for an uncontested layup with just 16 seconds remaining, tying
the game at 68-68 and sending the feverous Roman Gingerich Center crowd
into a state of pandemonium.
Unfortunately, Lancaster wasn’t finished.
As he calmly dribbled the ball down the floor, he took a jab
step left and dribble to his right. Instead of penetrating, he pulled
up for a tough, falling-away 18 footer from the right wing.
It calmly settled into the net, with just 0.4 seconds remaining
on the game clock.
After Goshen utilized its final timeout, junior Jordan Buller’s
length of the court pass was broken up near the rim, and the
ball landed harmlessly to the floor. A stunned crowd of over
1,500 stood in silence. Goshen’s
season was over.
“Overall, I thought we were better on offense in the second half,
but we seemed to always be coming at them from a basket or two
behind,” Daugherty
said. “When we finally got the lead a couple of times, we could
never separate ourselves by more than one basket. We talked all
week about stopping their penetration to the basket, and although we did
a decent
job most of the night, they seemed to get a lay up at critical
times in the second half. Overall, I thought we played hard all night
long. It’s
a very tough way to end a season, but we have nothing to be ashamed
of. We can hold our heads up very high.”
Game stats on the evening were eerily similar for both squads,
echoing the closeness of the game. Both teams finished 17 of 21 from the
free throw line. Both teams made five three-point field goals, with Spring
Arbor attempting 16 and Goshen 17. The Leafs did commit 16 turnovers to
Spring Arbor’s five, but a monsterous 37 to 23 advantage in rebounding
helped to offset that mark. In the end though, it came down to that one
final basket. Spring Arbor connected on 24 of 55 shots from the floor
(43.6 percent). Goshen made one less, knocking in 23 of 51 on the night
(45.1 percent).
“I really hope our guys define their own success, especially after
tonight,” said Cory Furman, Goshen assistant coach. “Spring
Arbor was two points better than us tonight, but I hope that
we don’t
lose sight of the bigger picture. Sometimes in life you may lose
a game on the scoreboard. But that’s not true success. True success
is giving your best effort on a daily basis and trying to do the things
that
God wants you to do. If you do that often enough, the results
will take care of themselves. Tonight we weren’t able to get it
done, but we gave our best effort. In life, sometimes, that’s all
you can do.”
Junior Eric Walsh led Goshen’s overall effort with 26 points and
15 rebounds, scoring on eight of his 11 shot attempts and knocking in
nine for 12 from the free throw line. Kopanski added 11 points and seven
boards in his last game in a Goshen uniform, while Buller and Frazier
each scored nine points. Sheerer added six points on a two for five effort
from the three-point arc, while the Leafs’ other senior, Troy Springer,
scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in 19 minutes of work.
“The toughest thing about ending any season is looking your seniors
in the eye knowing that they won’t be practicing anymore,” Daugherty
said. “This year, with Troy and Paul, it was especially difficult.
I thank both of them for their leadership and efforts. They have
been a big reason for all of our success over the past few years.”
There will be much to celebrate regarding this record-setting
season at a later time, as the 2004-2005 Goshen College men’s basketball
banquet date and time have yet to be announced. Check back to
this site for that information and the most up-to-date team news
and recruiting updates throughout the off-season
months. For a complete breakdown of current MCC Tournament results
and brackets, click here. |
  Junior
Eric Walsh
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